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3mo ago

Megalodon Was a Flexible Supercarnivore, New Study Shows

Zinc isotope analysis of fossil teeth shows the predator fed across trophic levels based on local prey availability

Jeremy McCormack with a fossilized megalodon tooth (Otodus megalodon).
Image
McCormack works at the mass spectrometer, which is used to determine the zinc isotope ratio. This ratio provides information about the diet of Otodus megalodon.
A stock image shows a 3D illustration of the Otodus Megalodon, the largest predatory fish that has ever existed.

Overview

  • Scientists analyzed zinc isotope ratios in fossilized megalodon teeth to reconstruct its ancient diet
  • Extremely low zinc-66 levels confirm megalodon’s position at the top of the food web while also indicating consumption of lower-level prey
  • Comparisons of specimens from Sigmaringen and Passau reveal regional dietary shifts, with Passau sharks eating more lower-trophic fish
  • An estimated daily requirement of about 100,000 kilocalories likely drove megalodon’s opportunistic, generalist feeding habits
  • Previous research links competition from rising great white shark populations to megalodon’s extinction around 3.6 million years ago